The Reverse side of the Eternal chase
by RAMI-ZenigataPWNS
Summary: AKA; Zenigata's Dutiful Perils. Once again the Lupin gang find themselves wrapped up in something big. Something involving Kidnappings, Yakuza clansmen, an Villan and a Golden key? If that wasn't crazy enough, Lupin protecting Zenigata? What's wrong here?


Disclaimer: I do not own Lupin III or any other characters from the series.

He often wondered why he bothered. Why he scoured the globe, only for it to end in his embarrassment. He'd come so close, just for it to slip away. Seriously, why would a man put him through such agony?

"Gee Pops, either you're getting slower or I'm getting faster!"

That's why. The owner of that almost kiddish voice. That is the reason Interpol's Koichi Zenigata suffered through it all. In his quest to arrest the monkey like thief known as Arsene Lupin III. Or more commonly referred to as;

"LUPIN! I will arrest you this time!"

The detective yelled, struggling to speed his pace. They were in the Alps this time, and Lupin had stolen a valuable artefact from a resort or sorts. Zenigata growled, he had never really been good at skiing, he had tried it a few times, but he was nothing compared to the thin thief. Lupin seemed to glide down the hill, upstanding Zenigata's simple attempts to keep up.

The detective looked up surprised to see Lupin slowing slightly. Probably mocking me, Zenigata growled to himself, as he busily closed the distance between them. He carefully grabbed the handcuffs from his belt, eager to arrest the young thief. But Lupin sped up again, giving a bark of laughter as he slipped away from the lawman again. Zenigata's eyes widened, then narrowed, as he once again tried to catch up. They were nearing the end of the run, and he was running out of time. He didn't notice his skis cross until he was flung into the air, and crash landed on the fleeing Lupin.

"O-OI!"

Lupin yelled shocked, as he too was thrown down into the snow. The pair rolled down the rest of the slope, unable to slow their momentum. They final crashed to a stop, reaching level ground. Zenigata groaned, sitting up first, trying to regain his disposition. Okay, how'd this start? Lupin mocking him, skis crossing, tumbling down the slope. He looked around him, the damned thief had escaped… Again.

"O-oi Pops… You're kinda crushin' me…"

Zenigata jumped involuntarily when he heard the voice, he looked to find he was _sitting_ on who he had thought had gotten away. He blinked, laughed and reached for his handcuffs. Lupin looked back at him, and laughed, a little helplessly. The detective smiled, finally, a victory. He would finally put Lupin in jail, be able to take a early retirement, maybe somewhere exotic, like, Canada or something.

But instead he felt the handcuffs snap around his own wrists. They were freezing from the snow, and felt like they were biting into his skin. He turned slightly, expecting the Gunman, or maybe even the samurai, or possibly the women. But it was any of the trio, it was a different face, mostly covered by a ski mask and scarf. He pulled the detective off the thief easily, and offering to explanation, turned on his heal and began walking, detective in tow.

"Hey! What's your problem?! I was making a very important arrest!"

Normally Zenigata wouldn't be overly concerned about stuff like this. Things set up by Lupin to set him back even more. But what worried him was the confused face of the thief. Not smirking, not laughing, nothing but confusion. Zenigata struggled, but the unnamed man paid no heed, continuing on his merry way. The man was surprisingly strong, seemingly unaffected by the struggles increasing in power.

"Man Pops, Wha'd you do this time?"

Great, now the thief was following him! It wasn't bad enough to be bound by his own cuffs, and being dragged without reason, without the constant mocking of the thief. But that was the thing… It didn't sound like mocking, it sounded like real curiosity. Now Zenigata was really unnerved.

"What are you asking for? Aren't you behind this?! You always are!"

He growled, and Lupin feigned hurt. A hand to his chest as if he'd been hit there. As he kept up with the silent man, and his 'enemy'.

"I'd never!"

A complete lie, but none the less, he gave a huff an continued. It was obviously the Interpol worker wasn't interested in his lies of near sainthood at the moment.

"Okay, maybe I have… A lot, but this time… I swear it wasn't me."

"Then what is the meaning of this!"

He snapped, exasperated, wishing to just get back to his hotel and forget about Lupin for the rest of the day. But the man dragging him by the front of his coat made that impossible. Damn that man, what did he want anyways. He blinked, they were approaching a helicopter, and a smartly dressed man stepped from it, almost daintily.

"I believe I can answer your questions, Koichi Zenigata-san."

He seemed polite and well mannered, but anyone would tell you he have a strange aura around him. One that practically screamed 'wolf in sheep's clothing'. He waved his has dismissively, and the silent man threw the detective at his feet. The sharply dressed man crouched down, and Zenigata looked up at him pained and confused. He was pained due to the fact he had landed on his back, and his wrists cracked awkwardly under him. He could tell they weren't broken, but still sent waves of pain throughout his body.

"I have some questions too!"

Lupin piped up, but he was all but ignored as the man studied Zenigata like a breeder studies a purebred. Even patting the detective's cheek, like a pet.

"Your questions will be answered in time, but for now, we must be leaving."

The man said, rising from his crouch. He threw a smile towards Lupin, and climbed back into the helicopter. A snap of his fingers, and the silent man went back into action, hauling the bound detective into the chopper, and sliding the door shut behind the two. Zenigata gave cry as he was tossed in, a cursed as he landed heavily on his shoulder. The silent man climbed in behind the controls, and started the engine.

Lupin took a step forward, unsure of what was going on. What he drunk, or sleeping maybe? He looked at the window, the man gave him a smirk, and in an instant he knew how Pops felt every time he did the same thing.

Lupin tried to see if he recognised the man. Neck length black hair, striking blue eyes. Though they were likely contacts. Young, maybe twenty-five or something. But he didn't ring any bells in the thief's mind. Lupin staggered back slightly, as the chopper rose in the air, hovered for a moment, then began to fly away.

The man arrogantly gave him a small wave, still smiling. Lupin was sickly reminded of a middle school girl or something. What was with this guy? Who'd he think he was?! Just appearing out of nowhere and stealing Pops? He wasn't Lupin! He couldn't do stuff like that!

Lupin sighed, shrugging. It was probably orchestrated by Fujiko or something, she was always getting men to do weird things for her. Lupin knew that pain personally. He pulled out his prize, feeling better the instant he saw it. A jewel encrusted sword handle, sure to score a pretty penny on the black market. He pushed the Zenigata matter from his mind, and decided instead to find the way back to the resort instead. He'd get to the bottom of this later.

-

Walking into the room, Lupin was happy to see his partners lounging around. Good, he kinda wanted to know who got the helicopter.

"What took ya?"

Jigen asked, not looking up from the TV. They had pulled the heist off hours ago, but Lupin had been side tracked with running from their favourite enemy.

"Pops, of course. So who organized the 'kidnapping'?"

He laughed, using air quotations. His partner's looked at him confused. Lupin's smile faltered slightly, before coming back full-force.

"Ah, c'mon, no reason to be shy, seriously, who was it?"

Goemon shook his head. And Jigen glanced at him, losing interest in the program on TV. It was in French anyways.

"You drunk man? We didn't organise any 'kidnappings'.'

He stated simply, looking at Fujiko and Goemon for conformation. They both nodded, they had no idea was Lupin was prattling about this time. Lupin's smile finally dropped off his face, replaced by a look of confusion.

"But who would want to kidnap Pops?"

He asked aloud, bring his hand to his chin, placing the other on his hip. He ignored the shocked faces of the men, and the amused face of Fujiko.

"Well, whoever they are, I just hope they keep him outta out hair."

"Shut up."

The women glared at Jigen, who had opened a bottle of liquor. Not caring even for a glass. They began bickering, Fujiko not seeing the importance of the Interpol Inspector. Jigen growling on about how it was called having a soul. Lupin sighed, taking a seat at the table Goemon was seated on. He was kinda worried, Zenigata was kinda like another member of the group. Almost ever present. Maybe it was an old enemy? Maybe it'd turn out to be nothing, and if they just waited, he'd show up at their next heist. He stood, crossing to his bedroom.

"--I didn't say I'd want him dead! He'll probably turn up any minute anyways!"

Fujiko growled, she and Jigen were face to face. The argument was half because of alcohol, and the other because general dislike. The thief looked back at them, hoping to end the fight quickly.

"It's probably nothing, let's wait a couple weeks and see what happens. Remember, we're heading back to Japan tomorrow."

He said, he felt beat. He padded his pocket, the handle was still there. That was good at least. Why'd he feel worried? It was Pops! It was like Fujiko said; He'd probably turn up in the morning, screaming about arresting him, and it'd go back to normal. With that good thought in his mind Lupin collapsed on the bed, looking forward to a nice long sleep.

--

Zenigata had barked questions at the man who dared rob him of his prized arrest. But the man was stubbornly quiet, deciding instead to wave out the window at the thief. So he was in league with that scoundrel, Zenigata decided, struggling to get to his knees on the floor of the helicopter. He was nearly kneeling when he was knocked back down by a sharp kick on the back.

"Stay down, Koichi Zenigata."

The man's voice had lost some of the politeness, but was none the less, amused. Zenigata crashed back down onto the floor, groaning slightly.

"F-fine, but answer me, are you working with Lupin?"

The man laughed, resting his feet on the detectives back.

"Of course not. I work on my own agenda. Now quiet down, we have a long trip."

Zenigata growled, rolling away as much as the small cabin permitted. The man's lips twitched down, and he kicked the defiant detective in the newly revealed stomach. Zenigata flopped back on his stomach, and the feet returned to his back. He still rolled, and struggled on the floor, and eventually, the man grew fed up. He grasped the front of Zeniagata's jacket with one hand, retrieving a syringe from his own front pocket with the other. He jabbed in the detective's neck quickly, jamming the plunger down, and ripping it out as soon as it was empty. He tossed the used needle somewhere behind him, letting Zenigata drop back to the floor.

"Damnit, I was saving that for later. I suppose this means I'll need another for the plane. Hosaki! You got that?"

The detective groaned, the feet on his back seemed to get heavier, or was it just his body? He realized quickly he couldn't even lift his head. Soon it felt like his eyelids weighed ten pounds each, and they eventually won over his will power, dropping shut, surrendering him to the darkness.

His mind worked faintly, though his body seemed off. He could hear a near muted conversation, and felt his body being moved. He swore he heard his name spoken to him, before even his mind was overtaken by the drug.

--

It had been three weeks, a whole three weeks. No sign of their shadow. Lupin sighed, he was pacing a room in a rundown apartment building. The group decided, mostly is was Fujiko trying to convince them, to take the missing detective as an opportunity. Only Fujiko could turn a kidnapping into a seemingly wonderful miracle.

The thief slumped on the couch, flicking the TV on. "-- And still no sign of Japanese Interpol Detective Zenigata Koichi. He went missing last month in the French Alps. Detective Zenigata is best known for his work on catching legendary thief, Lupin III--"

A wince. The man turned the TV off, he didn't need to be reminded… He had hopes the absent shadow would show up at their next heist. They were breaking into a safe in the Hatsusugi Building. A headquarters of a large company. It was currently being run by the founder's Great-Grandson, Hatsusugi Kagai.

It was quite soon after the one in the Alps, but Fujiko insisted they take this chance. And if she insisted, eventually they all fell along in line with her. The safe they were after was said to have nearly a million in cash. And not Yen, American dollars. There were all sorts of rumours of the Hatsusugi safe, but the one they had decided to trust was the one about the cash. 'Besides' she always added, 'He might just be lost or something. You know him, nothing to worry about'.

Looking over some blue prints of the building, it didn't seem exceptionally troublesome to break into. They had done this kind of stuff hundreds of times, but Zenigata had always been there… Lupin was close to screaming. Why did he _CARE?!_ It was ridiculous! Why did he feel guilty that he just watched as the man was kidnapped? I mean, it wasn't like he knew it was some random person, not his partners…

So close to screaming…

It was a welcome relief when Goemon walked through the door, Jigen close behind. Lupin leapt up, he really needed the distraction. The two solemnly took their seats. Goemon brushed some beer cans off the table, and sat cross-legged, as the other settled for sitting on the arm rest of the couch. The serious air about the two made Lupin fall back onto the couch, they were like raining on a wedding day…

Oh dear… Had Lupin really just quoted song Canadian singer's song in his head? That settled it, he was going crazy, maybe worse then crazy, insane. But weren't they really the same? … Man he needed help…

"So are we all set?"

The question made Lupin jump, Jigen was looking at him questioningly. And Lupin took in a breathe, he really needed to compose himself. Worrying wasn't something he did often, and damnit he wasn't going to screw this up. He did his best to put on his normal master thief face, confident and cocky.

"Of course, and we gotta be prepared, who knows? Maybe Pops is settin' us up. Can't give 'em the chance to get us, can we?"

The other two nodded, Jigen cracking a small smile. And Goemon turned his focus onto his blade. They knew if Lupin was up to it, they were up to it. If the detective wasn't there tonight, and he was sure he would be, he'd allow himself to get worried.

Fujiko came not long after the samurai and gunman. Toting a newspaper under one arm, lately she had become near obsessed with newspaper horoscopes. For the last few weeks she'd read out whomever's she thought was interesting. She sat on the couch, reading quietly. Goemon began to polish his sword as Jigen lit another smoke. The thief himself cracked open a beer, doing a quick once over on the blue prints of the Hatsusugi Building.

The silence was near unbearable, no one talking, no one arguing, it was like a frickin' museum or something. He bet you could hear a pin drop in the US, that's how quite it seemed. Lupin sighed, getting fed up with the quiet. He looked up agitated, normally he'd be okay with these kinds of silences, but he was already to keyed up to stand the quiet today.

"Hey! Fujiko, you mind reading out our horoscopes?" He asked, anything was better that crushing silence that was enveloping his soul into the bitter depths of-- Whoa… Way off topic… Anything was better than the damn blue prints that made everything pink when he looked away from them. There, much better.

The female of the group looked up from the paper, as if caught off guard, an irregular thing for the femme fatal. She blinked, flipping a few pages back, before reading out the particular horoscope.

"Saturn is in your energy field this week, brining with it a chance to make a small fortune. But don't get ahead of yourself, remember being full of yourself can only lead to some negative downsides. Venus will shine on you, leading you to possibly find a new love." She read the cryptic message slowly, it didn't surprise her, how it had with the others. She was used to these vague, yet mostly accurate little paragraphs.

Lupin just laughed, he knew the writers of those things were just full of shit, he didn't believe for a moment that any of that would change his course of life at all. Besides, what were they really? Words on paper? Nothing significant.

"A new love eh? How new are you Fuji-cakes?" He purred, only to be hit in the head with a shoe. A painful shoe, one with a heel that probably would have made a painful scratch on his face if he hadn't had a mask on for some, probably paranoia induced, reason. He pulled the mask of himself off, to the surprise and amusement of the others in the room. Fujiko replied by throwing the matching shoe.

"Ohhwww, that hurts." A pause. "Am I bleeding?" Another pause. "Holy shit Jigen I'm bleeding!" A gasp. "I'm going to diiiiiieeeee!" Lupin screamed dramatically, running around the apartment before collapsing on the ground.

"…You okay now boss?" Jigen said, staring down at the man that had collapsed at his feet. Lupin remained with his face on the floor, he had really just needed an excuse to get the energy out of him. It was good to feel less agitated now, though it did cost him his 'sanity' in the eyes of his friends.

"…I think he's finally lost it…"

The comment came from the man who had mostly tried to tune out the others for the last few minutes. That failing, Goemon felt it was in his best interest to get the last sentence of the chapter.

--

Well… There's the first chapter… Rather long… I didn't mean it to be so, but it just kinda happens… Now I have to start the next chapter… Well… I wish myself luck with that.


End file.
